Tsarnaev's body expected to be claimed by family

There may have been a written warning about the suspected mastermind in the Boston Marathon attacks that was ignored, according to a report.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, officials in Saudi Arabia say they sent a warning in writing about Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the Department of Homeland Security in 2012 after he was denied a visa to travel to Mecca.

The Saudi source claims Tsarnaev was boasting about plans online raising the attention of people monitoring jihadi websites based in Yemen.

The U.S. government denies receiving any kind of written warning from the Saudi government before the attacks.

Meanwhile, relatives of Tsarnaev are expected to claim his body now that his wife has agreed to release it, an uncle said Tuesday.Tsarnaev's body has been at the medical examiner's office in Massachusetts since he died after a gunfight with authorities more than a week ago.

Amato DeLuca, the Rhode Island attorney for his widow, Katherine Russell, said in a statement Tuesday that his client had just learned that the medical examiner was ready to release Tsarnaev's body and that she wants it released to the Tsarnaev family.

Police said Tsarnaev ran out of ammunition before his brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene. His cause of death has been determined but will not be made public until his remains are claimed.

"Of course, family members will take possession of the body," uncle Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Md., told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "We'll do it. We will do it. A family is a family."

He would not elaborate. Tsarnaev's parents are still in Russia, but he has other relatives on his side of the family in the U.S., including Tsarni.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lies in a prison hospital after being wounded in the shootout with police as he and his brother made their getaway attempt. He is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, a crime that carries a potential death sentence.

DeLuca said Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow met with law enforcement "for many hours over the past week" and will continue cooperating. FBI agents on Monday visited her parents' North Kingstown, R.I., home, where she has been staying, and carried away several bags. Until Tuesday's statement, DeLuca had declined to provide any details about Russell's contact with authorities, except to say that Russell was doing everything she could to assist with the investigation.

In addition to declining to claim the body herself, which is her right as his spouse, Russell has taken other steps to distance herself from Tsarnaev since taking refuge at her family's home on April 19, hours after her husband was killed. Her family released a statement shortly after she was escorted home by federal agents that day saying they "never really knew" Tsarnaev. Russell has also reverted to using her maiden name instead of the name listed on her marriage certificate, Tsarnaeva.

On Tuesday, DeLuca said Russell mourned the loss of life from the bombings.

"Katherine and her family continue to be deeply saddened by the harm that has been caused," DeLuca said.

Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday evening that the state had not yet received Russell's request to release her husband's body.

He said arrangements must be made to release the body and once that happens a death certificate will be filed and the cause of death made public. He said it is too soon to speculate on when that might happen.

Copyright 2013 by WCVB.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLASSES WILL RESUME NORMAL HOURS TODAY. NEW ALLEGATIONS EMERGING OVERNIGHT OF ANOTHER POSSIBLE WARNING BEFORE THE BOSTON MARATHON ATTACK. TODD KAZAKIEWICH, THIS ONE MAY HAVE COME IN WRITING? IN WRITING AND JUST LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO A REPORT OUT THIS MORNING QUOTING OFFICIAL POLICE SAUDI ARABIA. THEY CLAIM THEY DEVELOPED THEIR OWN INTELLIGENCE ON BOMBING SUSPECT TAMERLAN TSARNAEV AND SENT A WRITTEN WARNING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IN 2012. THAT CAME NOT LONG AFTER THE SAUDIS DENIED TSARNAEV A VISA TO TRAVEL TO MECCA. THE SAUDI'S SOURCE CLAIMS HE WAS BOASTING ABOUT PLANS ONLINE, RAISING THE ATTENTION OF PEOPLE MONITORING JIHADI WEBSITES BASED IN YEMEN. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DENIES RECEIVING ANY WRITTEN WARNING FROM THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT. BUT TODAY THE INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT PEOPLE KNEW AND WHEN IS PICKING UP SPEED. WAS THERE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED THAT TRIGGERED RADICALIZATION AND ARE THERE THINGS, ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN THAT ENTER NAME MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED IT. WE ARE ALSO LEARNING THAT TAMERLAN TSARNAEV'S WIDOW WILL NOT BE CLAIMING HIS BODY, BUT IS WILLING TO ALLOW IT TO BE TURNED OVER TO HER HUSBAND'S FAMILY.

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzkokhar Tsarnaev rested their case in his federal death penalty trial Tuesday after presenting a brief case aimed at showing his late older brother was the mastermind of the 2013 terror attack.